Better safe than sorry
by lilyleia78
Summary: Tommy/Adam slash with Tommy/Jason friendship. Jason's home for the first time since Tommy started seeing Adam, and his big brother act is in full swing.
1. Chapter 1

Better Safe than Sorry

**Better Safe than Sorry**

Tommy took the stairs two at a time, cursing his tardiness. Jason was finally in town for the weekend, and Tommy hated to miss out on time with his best friend. There was really no excuse for letting himself lose track of time, especially when the two most important men in his life were waiting for him.

Tommy grinned to himself at the thought. When Jason had left, he'd thought that he'd never again have a friend like that, never again have someone understand him the way Jason instinctively did. He was both wrong and right. No one could ever replace Jase, but he'd found two new friends in Rocky and Aisha. And in Adam he'd found more than he'd ever hoped for himself.

This was the first time Jason had been home since the World Peace Summit had taken him away. He knew about Tommy and Adam's relationship, all of their friends did, but there hadn't been a lot of time for them to get to know each other before he left. Tommy really wanted them to get along. It would be very difficult for him if they didn't. Oh, neither man would make demands or ask him to give up the other, but all three of them would be hurt in the end. Not that he could imagine anyone not adoring Adam on sight, but he could admit to himself that he was slightly biased.

When the White Ranger bounded into his room his eyes immediately fell on the Korean boy on his bed. He flashed his boyfriend a private smile before seeking out the room's other occupant. Jason stood up from his spot at the desk to receive Tommy's welcome home hug, wearing a warm grin. In his enthusiasm for seeing the two of them Tommy failed to notice that Adam's smile was strained in his slightly pale.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late guys," Tommy sat on the bed next to Adam and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. Adam stood up abruptly at the contact.

"It's okay. I was just leaving," the Black Ranger muttered, not making eye contact with the room's other occupants.

"But we were all supposed to hang out. Jason's only here for a little while." Tommy protested.

"I know. Sorry," Adam apologized. "Rocky needs me…for that…thing…" he trailed off lamely. Tommy reached out and laced his fingers through Adam's, but the Black Ranger stepped out of reach at the touch.

Now the tension in the room was enough for even Tommy to notice. He narrowed his eyes at Jason. His former leader shrugged and gave him an innocent look. Tommy wasn't buying that for a second. He decided that maybe he and his best friend needed to have a private conversation about his boyfriend's sudden aversion to his touch.

"Okay. You can catch up with us later."

Tommy couldn't miss the relieved and grateful look Adam sent his way. "Sure. I'll ask Rocky if he wants to join us."

Tommy wanted to protest, but it seemed unfair to exclude Adam's best friend when Jason would be with them all weekend. "That sounds good," he said instead. Adam stepped toward the door, but Tommy put a restraining arm on his elbow. Adam jerked his arm out of his grasp. Now Tommy was feeling a little hurt. He let the emotion color his next words.

"What no kiss goodbye?"

Apparently unable to resist, Adam dropped a chaste kiss to Tommy's mouth. He shot a defiant look at Jason before hustling out of the room. When they were alone, Tommy looked at his best friend suspiciously. Jason was trying so hard to look blameless and oblivious that Tommy fully expected him start whistling.

"Out with it Scott," Tommy demanded.

"What?" Jason was all wide-eyed innocence.

Tommy scoffed. "Who do you think you're kidding? Best friend, remember?"

"I don't know what you want from me."

With exaggerated patience Tommy asked, "What happened here before I showed up?"

"Nothing! We were having a nice little talk."

"Talk?" Tommy repeated doubtfully. "About what exactly?"

"Oh, this and that. Summit news, ranger news," Jason checked to see if Tommy was satisfied with this answer. Tommy continued to look at him expectantly. "The dangers of unprotected sex…"

Tommy felt his jaw drop. He closed it and it fell open again. Aware that he must look like a fish Tommy closed his mouth and forced it to remain that way. When he felt he could form coherent words again he asked, "Dangers of unprotected sex?"

"You know, HIV, STDs, those sorts of things," Jason explained casually.

"I _know_ what the dangers of unprotected sex are. So does Adam. I can see why that would embarrass him, but it doesn't really explain his behavior. He seemed…" Tommy looked around the room as though hoping to see the word he was searching for floating in the air.

"Scared?" Jason supplied helpfully.

"Terrified," Tommy agreed. "So, try your explanation again Fearless Leader."

"Hey, that's your title now, I resigned." Jason smiled hopefully, but Tommy was not going to be deterred. Jason continued reluctantly, "Well, I think maybe the pictures spooked Adam a bit."

"Pictures." Tommy repeated flatly.

"Well, yeah," Jason explained defensively. "Visual aids make things more interesting. I didn't want to bore the new man in your life with a lecture."

"We both appreciate that."

"Anytime." The two men were silent for a few minutes.

"Jase?" Tommy said sweetly.

"Yes, Tommy?"

"Go get my boyfriend back."


	2. Safety First

Safety First

Adam knew going to Rocky for help was a very bad idea the minute they pulled into the convenience store located, not-so-conveniently, twenty miles outside of Angel Grove.

"What are we doing here?" Adam asked warily.

"Getting supplies," Rocky answered.

"Supplies?" Adam repeated doubtfully. "For what?"

"Our revenge against Jason."

Adam stared at his best friend blankly for a moment. "We're at a gas station. To get revenge supplies," Adam clarified; sure he must be missing something. Rocky just nodded his agreement, so Adam was forced to ask, "And we couldn't get these revenge supplies in town?"

"We _could_ get them in town," Rocky said as he opened his car door, "but I didn't want to embarrass you." With a cheeky smile he stepped out of the car, forcing Adam to follow if he wanted to continue the conversation. And while he didn't want to, per se, he had the feeling he really needed to follow Rocky's train of thought to its horrific end.

Catching the exuberant red ranger at the door, Adam put one arm out to prevent the madness from continuing any longer, and to give his best friend an I-am-Ranger-fear-me glare. Rocky grinned at the action, not intimidated in the slightest.

"Hey, it's your non-existent sex life," Rocky said with a shrug. "If you don't mind it staying non-existent we can head home now."

Adam's eyes widened in horror as he looked around desperately to be sure no one had overheard that comment; Rocky took advantage of his distraction to enter the small store and went unerringly to the section of condoms. Adam wondered briefly why his friend knew exactly where to find them, but decided it was probably a dangerous question to ponder. Therefore, he was mildly relieved by the amount of surprised glee in Rocky's face when he began reading off the labels. This was obviously his first time studying the surprisingly diverse selection.

"Ribbed for her pleasure," Rocky paused to run an assessing eye up and down Adam. "Do you suppose that means ribbed for his pleasure too? Or is there something about Tommy you want to tell me?"

Adam rolled his eyes involuntarily before remembering that he was trying to pretend he didn't know the crazy man in the condom aisle. The black ranger slid down the section of medicines and made his way to the next row of goods. Unfortunately, Rocky was too keyed up to notice that Adam was ignoring him.

"Cherry flavored?" Rocky's forehead furrowed in that way that left him looking more like his spirit animal than the teenager would have probably be comfortable with. "Why do condoms need to be flavored?" He raised his voice enthusiastically to be sure Adam could hear him over in the next aisle. "Did Jason's lesson say anything about needing condoms for bl…?"

"Rocky," Adam yelped, darting across the divider in case physical restraint was necessary to prevent Rocky from literally killing him with embarrassment.

"What?" Rocky asked his voice muffled behind the restraining hand Adam had slapped across his mouth. "I'm only thinking of your safety."

"Yeah, that's what Jason said," Adam said, warily lowering his hand back to his side

"Well, there you go then. I wouldn't want you to think I'm not as good a friend as Jason." Rocky smiled quickly before returning his attention to the selection in front of him. "How do you feel about glow-in-the-dark? That seems like you could have some nice childish fun before the more adult fun starts. And you could leave the lights off; I know how self-conscious you can be."

"Do you?" Adam asked pointedly. Rocky ignored him; something far more interesting had caught his eye.

"Vibrating condoms!" Rocky exclaimed with undisguised glee. In a movement born of sheer self preservation, Adam swept an entire shelf of the prophylactics into his arms and practically sprinted to the counter, anything to get out of this store before he stroked out.

Two hours, three pep talks, and forty dollars later, Adam found himself back where this all had started, Tommy's doorstep. This time he had his best friend beside him for fortification, and an innocuous brown paper bag clenched in his arms. Adam reached for the doorbell, but Rocky knocked his arm out of the way.

"Don't," he said, a giddy smile on his face. "This'll be much more fun if he doesn't see us coming."

Adam rolled his eyes, but shifted away from the bell to open the door unannounced. He moved up the stairs quickly, not bothering to keep quiet; if he didn't do this now, he'd probably talk himself out of it.

At the door to Tommy's bedroom, two sets of surprised eyes turned toward him, and Adam faltered. Rocky didn't pause at all; he just shouldered Adam aside to see what the problem was.

"Oh, good. You're here," Rocky said gleefully and turned back to his best friend. At the panicked look on Adam's face, Rocky sighed in exasperation. "Fine, I'll do it." He reached for the bag, but Adam snapped out of his trance and clutched it tighter to his chest.

"No, I got it," he said, just loud enough for Rocky to hear. Setting his jaw in what he hoped was a determined manner; he marched across the room, opened the bag, and upended an entire convenience store shelf's worth of condoms over the former Red Ranger's head.

For a moment, only the sound of Rocky's gasping laughter, his mirth way out of proportion to the event, filled the room. Tommy and Jason stared at Adam, surveyed the spread of brightly covered foil covering Jason and the bed, and then looked at each other solemnly before bursting into laughter.

"Oh, yeah," Jason said, wiping at his eyes, "He's a keeper."

Tommy smiled broadly at the Black Ranger. Adam finally allowed himself to relax; and, emboldened by the success of his stunt, sat across Tommy's lap. Tommy's arms wrapped around him automatically as he said, "Don't I know it."

Helpless against the affection coming out of those tempting lips, Adam covered them with his own, sighing softly as a skilled tongue swiftly caressed his before pulling back. Adam was sure they looked like a couple of twelve year old girls the way they were staring into each other's eyes and grinning goofily at each other, but just now he couldn't find it in himself to care.

"Just so you know, team leader or not, if he hurts Adam I'm gonna have to kick his ass," Rocky said conversationally to the former Red standing next to him. Adam opened his mouth to protest, but Tommy shook his head minutely, eyes filled with delight.

The echoing amusement was also obvious in Jason's voice when he answered. "I can respect that. The same goes for me if Adam screws this up." Tommy rolled his eyes, but kept his silence.

"So," Rocky said to his predecessor, "up for some Red Ranger bonding?"

Adam spared a moment of gratitude for his best friend. Then he thought about how hard it would be if they were separated, and reluctantly stood up. "How about adding some Black and White to that mix?"

Jason's eyes darted quickly to Tommy, but he directed his question to Adam. "Are you sure?"

Adam smiled sweetly. "Of course. I'm supposed to protect the city; I can't let you two wander around unsupervised."

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Rocky grumbled as he and Jason turned in unison. Tommy caught Adam's hand, and gave it a quick, grateful squeeze before following their friends out the door.


End file.
